Spirited Cooking: Nocino Chocolate Cake

I recently came across a cake in Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts cookbook that used a whopping 2/3 cup of rum instead of the typical 2 to 3 tablespoons you often find in baked goods. The delicate blue Ball jar filled with homemade walnut liqueur sitting patiently in my refrigerator jumped for joy. A cake just waiting for the notes of walnuts, citrus, vanilla and warm spices to shine through! It made that 'ol rum sound a little boring.

Nocino is a sweet, spicy walnut liqueur made from green walnuts, grain alcohol or vodka, sugar, lemon peel, cinnamon and clove. Some versions swap orange for lemon, others add a vanilla pod,mace, juniper, or star anise. The resulting liqueur is dark and syrupy, and sipping it straight feels like pure indulgence.

Nocino is an excellent way to transform green, undeveloped walnuts into a cherished gifts for all your favorite people. It is often made in June when green walnuts are readily available on backyard trees—a Nocino-making fest is a great excuse to have a summer party.

If you don't have any homemade Nocino sitting around, you can grab a bottle of walnut liqueur from your local liquor store. Whether you sip it as a simple digestif, mix it into cocktails, drizzle it over ice cream, or fold it into batters, it's a worthy addition to your liquor cabinet.

The nutty, spicy perfume of this cake permeates the air as it bakes. It comes out moist and dense and needs the simplest adornment of Nocino spiked whipped cream to really sing. Serve with a chilled shot of Nocino or a hot pot of coffee.

Adapted from Nick Malgieri's Perfect Light Desserts

Spirited Cooking: Nocino Chocolate Cake

About This Recipe

Yield:

16

Active time:

20 minutes

Total time:

1 hour 20 minutes

Special equipment:

Bundt Pan

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Few scrapes of freshly grated nutmeg

4 large egg whites

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

3/4 cup corn syrup

2/3 cup Nocino

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cold heavy whipping cream

2 generous tablespoons granulated sugar

1 tablespoon Nocino

Procedures

1

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and preheat to 350°F. Grease bundt pan and lightly coat with a sprinkling of granulated sugar.

2

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl until fully incorporated. In a separate large bowl, whisk the egg and buttermilk to combine. Add the brown sugar, applesauce, corn syrup, Nocino, and vanilla one ingredient at a time, whisking between each addition until smooth. Pour dry mixture over egg mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon until fully combined.

3

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the tube comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges of the bundt pan to loosen, invert and unmold onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4

With an electric mixer, whip the heavy cream at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With the machine running, lowly add the sugar and Nocino and whip until stiff peaks form. Serve with Chocolate Nocino Cake.